Woodward Closes On Springfield Stations
• Woodward Communications, Inc. (WCI) announced the successful acquisition of four radio stations — WNNS-FM, WQLZ-FM, WMAY-FM, and WMAY-AM — from Mid-West Family, serving the Springfield, IL market.
This latest acquisition follows WC’s recent purchase of four Springfield, IL radio stations — WXAJ-FM, WFMB-FM, WCVS-FM, and WFMB-AM — from Neuhoff Media, completed in October of last year.
To comply with FCC ownership rules, WCI has spun off WCVS-FM to Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and is also divesting two of its recently acquired radio stations in Bloomington, IL: WIHN and WWHX. WCI has also entered into an LMA with Great Plains Media to operate WBBE. Great Plains Media currently owns and operates three radio stations in Bloomington, IL.
Kevin O’Dea will remain Market Manager for Woodward’s Springfield market, and commented, “All of us at Woodward Community Media look forward to the addition of the Midwest Family Stations to our lineup here in Springfield. These four stations, along with our current lineup including Channel1450.com and our Digital Services will allow us to enhance our local commitment to our listeners, advertising partners, and the Springfield and Central Illinois Community. We are excited to get started and grow this formidable group of stations along with welcoming the talented Midwest Family professionals joining us.”
“We look forward to integrating Mid-West’s solid brands into our Springfield operations, and, importantly, welcoming the talented and dedicated Mid-West team to be part of our employee-owned company,” said Tom Woodward, CEO & President of WCI. “Our plan is to co-locate all the stations and related operations into Mid-West Family’s current office and studios, which we believe will create synergies that will benefit our employee owners, our customers, and the community.”
Bob Heymann, Managing Director of Media Services Group Chicago, was the exclusive broker for Mid-West Family, and Greg Guy of Tideline Partners advised WCI on the acquisition of Mid-West Family, the divestitures, and the LMA.
